Square 1 Bank, a division of Pacific Western Bank, promoted Frank Tower to division president. In his new role, Tower will lead the national venture banking practice and will focus on deepening existing relationships and growing the Square 1 client base across the country. A career venture financier, Tower brings nearly 25 years of experience in lending to growth-stage technology and life sciences companies.

Tower joined Square 1 in January 2014 as executive vice president, and managed the technology and life sciences practices along the East Coast and throughout the Midwest, including offices in Boston, New York, DC, Chicago and Denver.

“Throughout his career in the venture banking space, Frank has proven to be a successful and trusted leader with a passion for entrepreneurs and strong reputation for inspiring teams,” said Matt Wagner, CEO and president of Pacific Western Bank.

Tower was a founding general partner of Gold Hill Capital, an independent venture debt firm, where he helped raise two funds that invested over $900 million into more than 200 venture-backed technology companies. As a senior member of Gold Hill’s investment and operating committees, Tower was involved in all aspects of fund deployment, portfolio management and strategic direction. Prior to founding Gold Hill, Tower spent over 10 years in roles of increasing responsibility at Silicon Valley Bank, including senior vice president and senior risk officer in Boston.